Updating 4000 Series to USB Updateable Firmware

In late 2016 a new update was released for the Low Level firmware on the 4000 Series enabling future the low level fimrware to be performed over the USB Interface port.

To perform this update, please follow the steps below :

To perform a low-level firmware update, a programmer from Transmille is required. After the programmer has been installed on a desktop computer, please use the following instructions to perform an update

NOTE : Do not proceed with this guide unless you have both the bootloader.hex file and 4000_Series_XXX_encrypted.hex files from Transmille.

1) Remove mains power from the 4000 Series

2) Remove the 3 screws holding the side handles on. There are 3 screws per side (6 total)

3) If fitted, remove the 3 pan head screws at the bottom of the front panel

4) The Front panel will now be free and able to be gently pulled forwards

5) Looking at the calibrator from the front, there is a small 10-way port in the upper right-hand corner. This connector faces forwards as below

6) Connect the MikroElektronica programmer to this port. The connector will only plug in when in the correct orientation

7) Turn the 4000 Series on at the mains.

8) Open the MikroElektronica MikroProg software, in the 'MCU Family' drop down box select 'PIC24H-J'

9) In the 'MCU' drop-down list, select 'PIC24HJ256GP610' from the drop down list. As of version 2.34 of the MicroElektronica software this is the last option in the drop-down list.

10) Drag and Drop the bootloader.hex file that has been provided on to the MikroProg software. A bar will appear at the bottom saying 'Loading', this process takes approximately 1 second.

11) Confirm that the MikroProg software looks like the following image

12) Press 'Write' in the MikroProg software.

13) The Low-Level firmware will now be overwritten. This process takes approximately 20 seconds. The calibrator will perform a hardware reset when the update is complete.

14) Remove power from the 4000 series, remove the MikroProg programmer and then re-assemble the unit as in steps 1-4 in reverse.

15) Connect a USB cable to the rear of the 4000 Series. Ensure that the FTDI drivers are installed on your computer.

16) Download the USB Updater application attached to this solution.

17) Start the ds30 Secure Loader GUI utility, and select the appropriate COM port for the calibrator, ensure that baud rate is set to 9600.

18) Select the 4000_Series_XXX_encrypted.hex where XXX is the latest version of the Low Level firmware. At the time of writing the latest version is 13.1.17

19) Ensure that 'Write Flash' is ticked, Device 'PIC24HJ' is selected and '256GP610' is selected in the dropdown box.

20) Turn on power to the 4000 Series, and then press the 'Write' button.

21) A progress bar will indicate the update progress, this process takes approximately 3 minutes.

22) On completion, the lights on the 4000 Series front panel will cycle and the firmware has been updated.

23) If an update to the UI has been provided, run this as per instructions in the manual. As of writing the current version of UI is 2.8.1